


Vigil

by MelodicRunes



Series: Star Wars AU [2]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types, Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Star Wars Setting, But does anyone, Force Bond (Star Wars), Gen, Inappropriate Use of the Force, Jedi, Jedi Knights (Star Wars), Master & Padawan Relationship(s), No Romance, No Slash, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Not Canon Compliant, Not Really Character Death, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Precious Peter Parker, Protective Peter Parker, The Force, The Force does things because I don't know how it works, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, duh - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-15
Updated: 2019-07-15
Packaged: 2020-06-28 10:57:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19810855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MelodicRunes/pseuds/MelodicRunes
Summary: After the final battle with Thanos (AKA Endgame), Padawan Peter Parker is awarded the status of Jedi Knight.





	Vigil

**Author's Note:**

  * For [madasthesea](https://archiveofourown.org/users/madasthesea/gifts).



> I've had the idea of Peter's knighthood floating around in my head for a while and this is NOT AT ALL how I imagined it would turn out. This was oddly personal, but I enjoyed writing it. I added a bit at the end purely for @madasthesea who has h/cs over on tumblr about this Star Wars au. Go check it out! 
> 
> Also, there is very little consistency when it comes to what a knighting ceremony is supposed to look like. So the Force does weird things. I blame it on the AU. I deeply apologize if I offend anybody with my use of the Force. Please know that I did a lot of research before writing this and love Star Wars, too!
> 
> I dedicate this one to my own Jedi Master.

Peter silently climbed the remaining steps of the Tranquility Spire. He reached the room at the top and had to push with more strength than he thought necessary to open the door. 

_ Huh. Guess it hasn’t been used in a while _ , he thought. 

And if truth be told, he was right. Not many had been knighted during the war with Thanos, the Infinity War, people were calling it now. 

Peter pushed the thought away and knelt in the center of the darkening room, the stone chilled beneath his knees. He settled his hands in his lap, bowed his head, closed his eyes and...waited. He was supposed to keep a silent vigil until dawn when the Council and Master Tony would arrive for the formal knighting ceremony. But what was he supposed to meditate  _ on _ , exactly? 

His thoughts drifted to his year mate, Shuri, another padawan who’s participation in the Infinity War and the final battle against Thanos had earned her a knighthood. Shuri’s ceremony had been the previous morning and he had only just left his friends and their celebrations. Earlier in the evening, she had spotted him hiding out in a corner of hers and Master T’Challa’s living quarters. 

_ “Ah, young Padawan Parker. Still brooding,” she laughed, and the Force rolled off her in childish delight.  _

_ “What,” he laughed. “I’m not ...I’m not brooding. Brooding is forbidden by the Code.”  _

_ “A lot of things are forbidden by the code, brother. That does not mean we do not partake in them anyway,” she replied wisely.  _

_ “Well, Knighthood certainly becomes you. You’re smarter already.” His retort earned him a punch on the arm. “Hey! I’m just being honest!”  _

_ The two laughed before the Force settled around them, Peter’s anxieties peeking out from his mental shields despite his best efforts at hiding them.  _

_ “Ah. Of course, you are brooding over the ceremony,” she gave him a half smile. “Alright. Ask away.”  _

_ “What? I can’t; it’s-”  _

_ “Forbidden, yes I know. So I won’t tell you everything. What do you want to know?”  _

_ Peter looked into her deep chocolate eyes and sighed. “It’s...it’s the...the vigil,” he admitted quietly. “I don’t...I don’t know, uh...what to meditate on or-or about or…”  _

_ She smiled sadly, understanding flooding the air between them. “You are afraid,” she asked quietly, “Of what you’ll see?”  _

_ “Of what I’ll remember,” he whispered.  _

_ “Perhaps that is what the vigil is for; to remember...and to forget to move forward.”  _

Peter grounded himself in the present moment, focused intently on just how cold the stones beneath his knees were. He took several long, deep breaths. 

_ Remember to forget. Remember...in order to forget.  _

He sank deep into the Force, reaching out warily with his mind. He wasn’t sure what he’d find waiting for him nor if he’d like what it had to offer. 

He didn’t have to wait long. The Force appeared to him in a form that bore a striking resemblance to his first Master, Master Ben. Peter had to clamp a hand over his mouth to keep from shouting out. This was supposed to be a  _ silent _ exercise, after all. 

“Peter,” Ben said warmly. “How you’ve grown.” 

_ I missed you! Every day I missed you _ , he willed the Force ghost to understand. 

“And I, you, young one. But we will be reunited once again, in time.” 

Tears rolled down Peter’s cheeks.  _ My fault. All my fault! Master, I’m so sorry! _

“No, Peter. It could never be your fault. You have been carrying that burden,  _ my _ burden, around for far too long. Let me go,” he said gently. 

_ No! I can’t! I can’t forget you! What if-what I forget what you taught me?  _

Images swam before them, and Peter watched as a much younger version of himself loped behind a grinning Ben. The image quickly changed to a young Peter with his lightsaber, Ben guiding his hands into the correct position. The image changed again. Ben meditating with him their first night as Master and Padawan. Ben teaching Peter the proper way to tie his belt and tabards. Ben adding to his Padawan braid. 

Peter looked up at the floating Ben in front of him, cheeks still wet with tears. 

“These are your memories, Peter, safe and secure in the Force. As am I. Have you forgotten these things I’ve taught you?” 

Peter shook his head no. 

“Then you will not forget me. Release me to the keeping and protection of the Force. Remember...in order to forget and move forward.” 

Ben faded away and Peter was left panting. He quickly scrubbed at his eyes with the hem of his sleeve and tried to steady his breathing. He centered himself again, grounded by the still cold stones beneath him, and sank into the Force once more. 

This time, Master Tony appeared, beaten and bloodied as he had been after the final battle with Thanos. But in this vision, Master Tony didn’t stagger toward him and throw his one good arm around his shoulders as he had in reality. No, this time, Master Tony didn’t get up at all. Peter watched, as he had watched frequently in his dreams since the battle, as Master Tony breathed his last breath, hand falling limply to the bloodied dirt. 

_ NO! Master, no! _

Fresh tears were falling down his cheeks now. 

_ Why are you showing me this?!  _

“This is your greatest fear, is it not?” 

Peter whipped his head to the side at the sound of that voice. It couldn’t be. Master Tony was real and alive right now, several floors below him with the other Masters preparing for the ceremony. But he was also in front of Peter in a twisted playback of his latest nightmare. And yet he stood beside him? Three Tonys? The galaxy was not prepared. 

“I am the Living Force,” Tony chuckled. “I can appear to you however and whenever I wish.” 

_ Oh. That makes sense, I guess.  _

“This is your greatest fear, is it not?” The question rang and reverberated throughout Peter’s skull. 

_ Yes, of course, it’s my greatest fear, _ Peter snapped to himself.  _ I’ve already seen one Master die in my arms. I can’t bear to lose another one! _

Force Tony raised an eyebrow at Peter’s thoughts. 

_ F-forgive me, I…I...that wasn’t directed at you… _

“You cannot hide yourself from me, young one,” he replied as he sat down next to Peter. “Hmm. The floor is cold. Do you want me to fix that?” 

_ I...what? _

“The. Floor. Is. Cold,” Force Tony spoke as if he were speaking with an infant. 

Peter rolled his eyes, forgetting that he wasn’t speaking with the real Tony. 

“Don’t worry about it. I’ve fixed it. Back to the topic at hand, shall we?” 

Peter felt a delightful warmth surround him as if he were sitting in the early morning sunshine. He smiled a little in spite of himself and looked back up at the scene suspended before them. 

Tony. Dead. 

Peter’s heart nearly skipped a beat. 

_ I...I...I can’t. I can’t do this.  _

“Remember to forget.” 

_ But I  _ **_can’t_ ** _ forget! It nearly happened! He nearly died in the Healer's ward afterward!  _

“But did he?” 

_...no...But he will one day...And I can’t...I  _ **_can’t_ ** _ … _

“You are a part of the Force, of Me, as is every other Jedi. Including Ben.” 

Peter gulped. 

“Including Tony.” 

Peter examined his hands intently. 

_ I can’t give him up _ , came the small reply.  _ I… _

“Love him, perhaps? Like a son loves his father?” 

_ I don’t remember my parents. I have no concept of a father. And attachment is against the Code. _

“I am not bound by words on a page, young one. I am the Lifespring that holds everything together. It was my will that you and Tony end up together as Master and Padawan.” 

_ But what if...what if he...dies? _

“Then I will take care of you. And him.” 

Peter stared with wide eyes. The thought had never occurred to him before, that Tony would be looked after, cared for, without Peter. 

Force Tony chuckled. “I’ve been looking out for Masters and Padawans for ages, young one. You are not the first pair to care deeply for each other, and you certainly won’t be the last. Promise me this.” 

_ I promise. _

“No, that’s not how a promise works,” he sighed in a perfect imitation of the real Tony’s exasperation. “You don’t know what you’re promising yourself to. Listen!” 

Peter sat quietly, hands in his lap, and waited. 

“Promise me this, young one: Let me take care of Tony. And let me take care of you.” 

_...Ok. I promise… _

Force Tony smirked over at Peter and raised his hand to Peter’s forehead. Peter was instantly compelled to sleep and his chin dropped down to his chest. He didn’t wake until the door to the meditation chamber scraped open. 

He jerked himself awake in an instant, thoughts of Master Ben and talks with Master Tony rolling around in his recent memory. The Council filed in, followed by Master Tony and Master Rhodey. As one, they lit their ‘sabers and cast a ghostly shadow around the room. Master Yoda approached, emerald green ‘saber held high. Peter kept his head bowed. 

“By right of the Council, by will of the Force, dub thee a Knight of the Republic, I do.” A flash of green appeared over his right shoulder and before Peter knew it, his Padawan braid fell to the floor. “Stand, you will, Jedi Knight.” 

Peter slowly got to his feet and bowed before Yoda and the Council. 

Several Council members patted him on the shoulder or head in a silent congratulations as they made their way out of the chamber. 

“I think this belongs to you,” Tony said as he offered Peter his ‘saber back. Peter gratefully accepted it and slowly clipped it onto his belt. Most everyone else had left; it was just him, Tony, and Rhodey now. Without hesitation, Peter flung his arms around Tony’s neck. 

“Thank you,” he mumbled into his mentor’s shoulder. “For everything.” He felt Tony chuckle. 

“Congratulations, youngling. You earned it.” 

“Come on, Pete. I think you better see to those friends of yours before they tear Tony’s quarter’s to shreds,” Rhodey called. 

“Oh, yeah! Coming Master Rhodey,” Peter called after him. He turned to Tony and mumbled, “Do I get to call everyone by their first names now? That’ll be weird. Should he be James and you, Anthony?” 

“If you ever call me Anthony, you will deeply regret it,” Tony deadpanned. 

Peter chuckled as he followed his former Master down the spiral stairs. “Hey,” he exclaimed and grabbed his padawan braid from Tony’s mechanical hand. “Are you really gonna keep this?” 

“So what if I do? You have no use for it anymore. And don’t pretend that you didn’t steal my old, battered cloak to sleep in.” 

“I did no such thing,” Peter said and pretended to look offended. 

“The droids told me.” 

“Droids don’t speak.” 

“You’re right. The droids  _ showed  _ me, as in, I have holographic evidence of your precious little baby face sticking out from the corner of my ratty old cloak while you sleep.”

Peter rolled his eyes as his braid floated out of his grip and into Tony’s. “It’s just a braid, Master.” 

“It’s just a cloak, Peter,” Tony smirked. 

Peter humphed, arms crossed over his chest, as they made their way to their shared living quarters and the party that awaited them. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed it! Comments are always welcome. Hit me up on tumblr @melodicrunes <3


End file.
